3 ways to apply data to improve customer experience

Focusing on the customer experience may seem like a fad or trend; however, it’s serious business. U.S. brands are losing approximately $41 billion each year due to poor customer service, according to a NewVoiceMedia Study. That means it’s worth investing in “voice of the customer” programs.
In fact, the first step in Safelite AutoGlass®’s Customer Driven approach is “listen.”
What does it mean to truly listen? It means understanding customer pain points. It means absorbing their feedback, digging through the data to understand the customer on a deeper level, and ultimately anticipating and identifying better ways to meet their needs.
The following are three ways we are listening better to our customers today and applying the data.
Invest in text analytics to find trends in customer feedback
Since 2007, Safelite has used the Net Promoter Score® to measure customer satisfaction. By collecting roughly half a million NPS surveys each year, we’ve done an excellent job of reviewing customer feedback, but we needed a better way to use all of the data.
Last year, we implemented a text analytics solution that allows Safelite to perform regular sentiment analysis of customer comments and provides context around the scores.
It allows us to identify the most relevant comments that lie behind our scores, expressed in customers’ own words. This narrative drives what needs to be done in terms that managers across the business can easily understand. Applying text analytics to our data moves NPS beyond being just a score, as we now know what is driving that score.
Listen to promoters and detractors
It’s important to not only listen to detractors to fix a negative service issue, but to also listen to promoters to find best practices.
One thing our data told us: Mobile customers gave us a higher NPS than in-shop customers. Using our text analytics, we learned that mobile customers really appreciated interaction with the technician — something in-shop customers didn’t experience as consistently.
This was an easy fix. Instead of having the customer check in at the front desk and talk only with the person at the counter, the in-shop technician is now encouraged to meet with customers to explain the service, keep them informed and thank them at the end of the experience.
Ask yourself, what are your promoters telling you about your company?
Listen to non-purchasers
Finally, don’t forget about your non-purchaser data. It provides insight into the experience that may lead the customer to go elsewhere.
One example is our website, www.Safelite.com. We reviewed where customers bailed out during the online estimate and scheduling process and researched what caused them to pause the process. Now, we have a better, more streamlined online scheduling process, a big part of today’s customer experience.

Data is everywhere within the business, make sure you’re investing time and dollars into understanding the data so that you can better understand your customer. Your business will surely improve as a result.